Pore geometry effect on the synthesis of silica supported perovskite oxides

The formation of perovskite oxide nanoparticles supported on ordered mesoporous silica with different pore geometry is here presented. Systematic study was performed varying both pore shape (gyroidal, cylindrical, spherical) and size (7.5, 12, 17nm) of the hosts. LaFeO₃, PrFeO₃ and LaCoO₃ were chosen as target guest structures. The distribution of the oxide nanoparticles on silica was comprehensively assessed using a multi-technique approach. It could be shown that the pore geometry plays a determining role in the conversion of the infiltrated metal nitrates to metal oxide. In particular, slow degradation kinetic was observed in highly curved pores, which fostered nucleation and crystallization of the guest species. In spherical pore systems the enhancement of pore size caused a remarkable delay of the decomposition of the metal salts, but at the same time improved the homogeneous distribution of the oxide particles in the matrix.